Reasons for England to be fearful, but also cheerful, at the prospect of
facing Italy.

Andrea Pirlo’s passing The Juventus midfielder has been described as one of the few players capable of slotting into the Spain team, such is his majestic use of the ball and ability to make the game look so simple.

Antonio Cassano’s pace John Terry and Joleon Lescott are both vulnerable when faced with forwards running at them with the ball at their feet and that is precisely what they will encounter with Cassano in this Euro 2012 quarter-final.

And, of course, Mario He offers pace and height and there is no doubt that Balotelli has a knack of scoring important goals when it matters.

No Giorgio Chiellini The loss of the centre-half to a thigh injury is a hammer blow for Italy. Cesare Prandelli is likely to deploy Daniele De Rossi at centre-half — a move which will rob Italy of their driving force in midfield.

Lack of pace While Federico Balzaretti will test England with his raids down the left flank, there is little pace elsewhere in the Italian team. They will struggle to deal with Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Ashley Young, so it could be a night of shirt-pulling.

And, of course, Mario He is facing players who know exactly which buttons to press to trigger a meltdown and Balotelli has shown little evidence in the past of being able to rise above that. May be left on the bench.